Singer Kavita Seth, known for her soulful music, recently released her new album, Saanware Aajaiyo, which is a touching tribute to the enduring love that Radha and Krishna shared. The songstress gets candid with The Pioneer about her music, the traditional bandish of Saanware Aajaiyo, and more.
Tejal Sinha
Music—something that touches us emotionally where words alone can’t. Well, we’ve heard of it so many times; nothing new. But for many, music is a spiritual ‘Sadhana’. Similar is the case for singer Kavita Seth, known for her soulful tracks including Iktara, Jeete Hain Chal, Rangisaari, and Tum Hi Ho Bandhu, to name a few. To her, music has always been a ‘Sadhana’, and every time that she sits down to sing, she always hopes from God that she can sing with honesty, heal people with her music, and be an aid for people to get them away from their difficulties. No doubt, to date, her songs have been more like meditations that dive into the beauty of the song.
Rattle on her music, and one of the aspects we can think of is that she’s been one of the artists who does not make music just for the sake of it, and every time that she comes with a song, it’s a BANG! The vocalist has been one of those in the industry who prefers quality over quantity. In fact, she reveals that there have also been songs that she’s rejected. “The songs or poetry that I myself don’t feel connected to, I don’t sing them,” enthuses the Iktara singer, adding, “Not that it’s bad or something, but I don’t feel connected to them. But with the ones that I am connected to, I feel that music is something that helps you connect to the divine. With whatever song or poetry that I am connected to, that in itself goes and reaches heights that even I’m not aware of. But it’s just the energy jisko eeshwar bolo, param satta kuch bhi naam de sakte ho, uske saath jab connect ho jaate ho, so all those songs connect through different energy and that reaches the ones who’d need it, and this is what I believe.”
The chanteuse, along with her son Kanishk Seth, recently released their new track, Saanware Aajaiyo. The musical composition is a touching tribute to the enduring love that Radha and Krishna shared, deftly fusing tradition with modern sensibilities. This soulful track was recently released on her birthday, September 14, and this could be nothing more than special for the duo. Saanware Aajaiyo is a beautiful traditional
bandish, which she used to hum, and then the mom-son duo decided to work on this song. “I wanted even Kanishk to sing this song, so I immediately wrote a poem for him that he sang, ‘Radha gori aai jaaiyo’, which turned out really well. Luckily, both the audio and video complement each other, making it a masterpiece. I hope the energy of this song also heals people and brings ‘Sukoon’. This is how we imagine Radha Krishna in this modern era; that’s a story that we try to bring out through this. I feel the main thing is the connection, jisme aap connection feel karte ho. That song itself goes kahan se kahan tak in a way that you can’t imagine. Sometimes when you’re like, I want to make 10 to 15 songs and want to work in bulk, that becomes a work, and the artistic element of it fades away and the emotions go away from it. It becomes like you have a body but without a soul.”
It is no surprise that independent music has created a niche for itself in the Indian music market. So much so that, today, many independent singles are being used in films too. For instance, her own single, Rangisaari. And she feels it’s like a ‘big vardan’ that singles are being used in films.
“When we released Rangi Saari initially, it was already a hit, and when it went to the movies, it became a massive hit. If the audience likes independent music, and when it goes to the films, it reaches the masses, which is a very good sign for an artist, so it’s going to be a very good thing if more of our songs go that way (she laughs).”
She further goes on to highlight how important it is for one to do their ‘Riyaz’, and work on their ‘Sur’, to reach the audience.
While the industry has had several duos, Kavita and Kanishk have been the first mom-son duo to create a history of their own. As we asked her, she just laughed out loud and said, “Kya Kahein Hum toh! Socha nahi tha, but we are creating history with every song (she giggles). Even though we never thought that we would work together like this, it’s an amazing bond with Kanishk, and so we are making so many songs and releasing them, and the biggest thing is that people love this bond. There’s no such bond in the industry. So we are enjoying it and people like it; we are thankful for that.”
Folk music has been growing in its own way lately. In fact, today, fusion has become a much better option, which has helped the original folk music reach the ears of new generations as well. And agreeing to the same, she said, “According to me, folk music has been growing of late and coming forward. For instance, Mame Khan! He’s become such a big artist, gaining all the fame and name I am just talking about Rajasthani folk music; otherwise, in UP folk music, Malini Awashthi, and in every folk music, there are at least one or two big names, so everyone is working on it and people are loving it, and that’s what I feel. Yeah, when you add fusion to it, you also attract a young audience, but still, people love folk music the way it is. I just hope, as much as it is meant to come forward, it should, and people give it the importance that it deserves because that is our root.”
There have been several reports that claim that she began turning down dance numbers when you were flooded with them after the success of Tumhi Ho Bandhu (Cocktail 2012) because you weren’t comfortable with their lyrics and the innuendos in them. As a composer, are there any deal-breakers? She gleefully laughed and said, “Back then, when I refused to sing dance numbers, it was nothing else but poetry, and it has always been that for me. If there’s good poetry and if they try to create it in a dance number, I would definitely sing. Even if I get to compose, I’d surely do it with nice poetry.”
